OYSTERKNIFE

OYSTERKNIFE—derived from Zora Neale Hurston’s essay “How It Feels To Be a Colored Me” — is a dance-theatrical duo formed in early 2018 out of a longtime creative friendship between Gabriele Christian and Chibueze Crouch. Nourishing a desire to subvert and broaden our collegiate theatrical training, which often ignored our complex Afro-Diasporic queer experiences, we found that interdisciplinary, somatic-based, experimental approaches made for fuller work, allowing us to interrogate sociohistorical norms and institutions while freeing our bodies. OYSTERKNIFE centers its work around collectivism (who is here and who is missing that we need to invite), a rapt attention to archives (documenting the voices seen and unseen), and multimedia immersion (seamlessly blending disciplines and breaking the audience/performer divide).